Government to get new €45m jet by end of the year
Stranded Taoiseach Down, The In Learjet Paris Occasion Existing Leaving Leo Then Varadkar On Broke One
A new Government jet is set to be bought by the Department of Defence before the end of the year.
The new jet, which was put out to tender last year at a cost of €45m, is due to replace the existing Government Learjet which has seen repeated breakdowns over recent years.
One such incident saw then taoiseach Leo Varadkar stranded in Paris, while the Government had to rent a €7,000-an-hour jet to transport Tánaiste Micheál Martin to and from Israel and Egypt.
The Learjet, due to its inconsistency, has yet to be used this year with its most recent flight taking former finance minister Michael McGrath to Brussels in December 2023.
Since the Learjet came into use, it has been used for short-hop flights, primarily to Brussels for EU meetings.
The Tánaiste has now confirmed that the plane will be bought before the end of the year, as the tender award is set to be allocated in the months ahead.
“The intention is that the acquisition phase will be complete and an award of contract will be made this year,” Micheál Martin said in response to Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy.
There is no specified model of jet due to be acquired by the Government, but it does require a capacity of no less than 10 seats and must have an unrefuelled range of no less than 4,000 nautical miles.
The tender adds that it must have the “capability of being fitted with a Defensive Aid Suite (DAS) and secure digital communications”.
A DAS is used as a defence system onboard aircraft to protect against missiles.
The plane can also be used as an evacuation aircraft. This includes medical evacuation or repatriation of Defence Forces personnel deployed abroad.